


Glass

by Kahvi



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 17:59:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahvi/pseuds/Kahvi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh, it is subtle, Mr. Spock, but you're one of nature's most pathetic failures; a hybrid that embodies the flaws of both lines that make up your genetic heritage. In many ways, one might say we are polar opposites."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glass

This is illogical. Spock knows this. He also knows that the Captain (Kirk. Jim.) is _not_ logical. Recent events have demonstrated just to which degree, and it is this, in part ( _why did he save me_ ) that leads him here, to face the man he warned the Captain not to engage with. Of course, Khan will manipulate him, too. Then again (this is also logical), he has already done so. Simply being on this ship; the very act of interacting with them; that is all part of it. He is an unknown variable. Spock is concerned by unknown variables. 

Spock is concerned by this man. Concerned to a disconcerting degree. 

_"You are not following your own advice,"_ Khan rumbles; it is the sort of thing the Captain would find amusing. Spock, for a great number of reasons, does not. 

"Your Vulcan is nearly perfect," he comments in English, not quite sure why. Vulcan is a more precise language, and as they both speak it - yet, he holds back. A curious inclination. 

Khan laughs. "Not _nearly_."

"Nearly," Spock insists. "There is emotional stress in your pronunciation; impossible to avoid for non-Vulcan speakers."

"I was emulating your speech patterns." He grins, slowly. It does not reach his eyes, indicating some emotion Spock cannot quite grasp. Reading Kirk is so much easier, and that is problematic at the best of times. One thing remains clear, however:

"You are attempting to rile me. It will not work." 

"From the way you're perspiring, it already has. Oh, it is subtle, Mr. Spock, but you're one of nature's most pathetic failures; a hybrid that embodies the flaws of both lines that make up your genetic heritage. In many ways, one might say we are polar opposites." 

A lie; intended to unsettle. He is not perspiring; his body is very nearly entirely under his concious control. Spock would _know_ if it were not. "I have come to appeal to your rational side."

"What makes you think I have one?"

"All circumstantial evidence points to the fact that you do. In some respects, you are as rational as I am."

"More."

"That is not possible."

"Because I am an emotional creature? Is that so?"

"Precisely." 

Khan is standing, but his body does not appear to be at rest. Muscles twitch minutely, barely observable. He does not blink. "So," he says, his lips the only part of his face really moving, "are you."

It is not unlikely that he knows. Human beings do not, as a rule, but there are exceptions. (His mother. Nyota.) Yes, Spock decides, peering closer at Khan's rigid face, Khan knows. 

"It is a matter of control, is it not. And the thing about control, Mr. Spock, is that it can be broken. As easily as bone."

"You are mis-"

"You think I am weak because I do not control what I feel. But consider: I am already what you fear you might become. And so..."

"...you have no fear," Spock mutters. A curious way to see it. 

"No. I do fear. Fear is useful. But I know where I stand. I am not constantly looking over my shoulder. I do not wait for the other shoe to drop, Mr. Spock. Does that phrase amuse you?" He is standing closer. The glass fogs. "Pardon me. You do not indulge in that emotion."

It is quick; a half-second, but Spock senses it with every nerve-ending, as though their minds were linked. For a moment, there is no glass. For a moment, there is no space between them. His breath hitches, and of course Khan hears; sees. Instantly. 

"I," Khan's voice resonates in the glass, "indulge." He does not lick the glass. Nothing so crass. He breathes and does not move away, and that is enough. 

"If you hurt him," Spock finds himself answering, "it will not end well for you."

This earns a raised eyebrow, the spell somewhat broken. Momentarily. "That's very interesting. 'Him'. Not 'her'."

"You have no interest in Lieutenant..." Khan does not interrupt, but Spock recognizes the futility. They both halt, eyes narrowed, observing. 

For quite some time.


End file.
